West African Ornithological Society Société d’Ornithologie de l’Ouest Africain

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May/mai 2014

2008

Notes Courtes

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had not heard before nor since, and did not have access to C. Chappuis’s recordings on vinyl records that had been available since 1978. However, after F. DowsettLemaire and R.J. Dowsett (in litt. and Dowsett-Lemaire & Dowsett 2007) informed me that they had discovered that the African Barred Owlet Glaucidium capense was common and widespread in Ghana I realised that the calls which I had heard were identical to the second part of the vocalisation (“a series of quavering notes”) of the African Barred Owlet G. c. etchecopari on CD7 of Chappuis (2000). This is the first record for Togo and the most eastern record for the W African population. Given the time that has elapsed since this record, confirmation of the species’ occurrence in the country is desirable. References CHAPPUIS, C. (2000) African Bird Sounds. Société d’Etudes Ornithologiques de France, Paris. DOWSETT-LEMAIRE, F. & DOWSETT, R.J. (2007) The avifauna of the proposed Kyabobo National Park in eastern Ghana. Malimbus 29: 64–88. Received 26 August 2006; revised 19 December 2007 R.A. Cheke Natural Resources Institute, University of Greenwich at Medway, Central Avenue, Chatham Maritime, Kent ME4 4TB, U.K.

A new record of the White-crowned Black Wheatear Oenanthe leucopyga for Nigeria The White-crowned Black Wheatear Oenanthe leucopyga is a true desert bird, occupying habitat with minimal vegetation in pebbly and rocky areas, wadis, cliffs, lava fields, human dwellings, ruins and cemeteries, over N Africa, most of the Sahara, Arabia and the Middle East (Cramp 1988, Keith et al. 1992). Some individuals or populations make short-distance movements in winter and birds from NW Africa are believed to migrate south in winter (Keith et al. 1992). Around 10h30 on 8 Oct 2007, we sighted a robust, mainly black wheatear in dense savanna in Yankari Game Reserve, Bauchi State, Nigeria (c. 9°45´N, 10°30´E),. When first seen, it was perched in the lower branches of a tall shrub, almost facing us, such that we could not see its back or the underside of its tail. It showed a completely white cap, from forehead to nape, and the rest of the visible part of the body was black. The bird quickly flew way, when we glimpsed a flash of white in the lower body or tail. We first thought the bird to be a White-fronted Black Chat Myrmecocichla albifrons, but it showed a more robust bill and body and less vertical posture, more typical of Oenanthe, besides the wholly white cap. Adult White-crowned Black Wheatear is the

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only Palaearctic Oenanthe with white cap, vent, lower back, under tail-coverts and underside of the tail, which may account for the white we saw when it flew away. Hooded Wheatear O. monacha has more extensive white on the underside, from breast to under tail-coverts. All characteristics we observed identify the bird as White-crowned Black Wheatear, with two previous records in N Nigeria, one from Malamfatori (13°37´N, 13°23´E) in Aug 1963, and another near Maiduguri (11°49´N, 13°9´E) undated (Elgood et al. 1994). Our record was c. 550 km from the first and 400 km from the latter. The habitat at Yankari is atypical for the species and our record likely represents a straggler. This is report number 29 from the A.P. Leventis Ornithological Research Institute. References CRAMP, S. (ed.) (1988) Handbook of the Birds of Europe, the Middle East and North Africa: the Birds of the Western Palaearctic, vol. 5. Oxford University Press, Oxford. ELGOOD, J.H., HEIGHAM, J.B., MOORE, A.M., NASON, A.M., SHARLAND, R.E. & SKINNER, N.J. (1994) The Birds of Nigeria. British Ornithologists’ Union, Tring. KEITH, S., URBAN, E.K. & FRY, C.H. (1992) The Birds of Africa, vol. 4. Academic Press, London. Received 5 November 2007 Revised 30 January 2008

Fabio Olmos1, Ulf Ottosson2 & Talatu Tende2, Largo do Paissandu 100/4C, 01034-010 São Paulo, SP, Brazil 2 A.P. Leventis Ornithological Research Institute, P.O. Box 13404, Jos, Nigeria

1

Concentration de Nauclers d’Afrique Chelictinia riocourii près de Niono, Mali En janvier 2006, une mission d’éco-volontariat pour l’ONG Planète Urgence avait pour objectif de réaliser des comptages de l’avifaune dans la région de Niono, Mali, au bénéfice d’une association malienne, Groupe Nature. Le 12 janvier 2006, JJG et C. Diop observent une concentration d’environ 200 Nauclers d’Afrique Chelictinia riocourii posés sur un Acacia albida près du pont de Molodo, village proche de Niono. Ils arrivaient en groupes dispersés. Le lendemain à 8h45, 191 individus étaient posés ou en vol dans le même secteur. Le 16 janvier, entre 17h30 et 18h12, près de Niono, 560 Nauclers partaient vraisemblablement vers un dortoir, en direction du nord-nord-ouest. Le 17, à partir de 17h00, un dortoir rassemblant 2480 oiseaux est découvert sur quelques grands Eucalyptus camaldulensis à l’extérieur des jardins de Niono (14°15´26´´N, 5°59´96´´W). Les eucalyptus, acacias et rôniers Borassus sp. sont brûlés par les fientes. L’odeur est forte.